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India had a dreadful end to the T20 World Cup 2022 as they got thrashed by England by ten wickets in the semifinals. The Rohit Sharma-led team could not defend 168 as England chased down the target in just 16 overs. Alex Hales and Jos Buttler scored 86* and 80* to crush Indian hopes of qualification for the final.
There were plenty of reasons for this humiliating defeat. While some pointed to the conservative approach from the batters as one of the reasons, some pointed out the lack of potency in India’s spin bowling attack. India played two spinners- Axar Patel and R Ashwin throughout the tournament. Both the spinners failed to take wickets in the middle overs and also could not contain runs.
Meanwhile, India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is, Yuzvendra Chahal warmed the bench throughout the competition. Chahal did not get a single game. And former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has taken a dig at the team management for their decision to bench the wrist spinner. Singh said that Chahal might have done something to someone to not get a chance.
“I don't know what are the reasons that a champion bowler (Yuzvendra Chahal) is not in the team. He must have done something to someone that he is not getting a game. With his credentials he should have been your first choice spinner,” Harbhajan said on India Today’s Battle of Champions show.
He also talked about India’s conservative approach with the bat. Singh said that it felt like India were playing an ODI. “It is hurting, more because that we did not fight at all,” said Singh.
“India batted like ODI in first 10-12 overs like they still had 40 more overs to play. India should learn this format from England. They played like champions. It is very disappointing to see India's approach throughout the tournament where they did not look like they would score more than 35 runs,” he spoke about the batting unit.
